The mail arrives daily in the usual way, but the mail that makes it into my house depends solely on who brings the mail from the mailbox. While everyone usually brings in the bills, the rest is dependent on who physically carries the mail from the box to the counter. Currently I’m tossing anything from car dealerships (my husband is always looking), any sports catalog (the number of cleats already in the garage is staggering), and any coupon/offer I don’t immediately need. And when my husband brings in the mail? All the sports and car stuff makes the cut and my shopping magazines and catalogs immediately go MIA.

The problem with direct mail is you only get one shot to get to the right person, and it doesn’t rely on the marketing principles that make campaigns so successful: reach and frequency. Household IP Targeting solves this challenge.

What is Household IP Targeting?

Household IP Targeting is the process of targeting internet advertising to specific households based on their Internet Protocol address (which is the string of numbers assigned to your internet connection by your Internet Service Provider). It has the targeting ability of direct mail without the printing costs and mailing costs, and, instead of reaching a household once with a direct mail piece you could target a household 20-50 times in a month with a display or video ad – giving you the opportunity to reach your intended household member.

How does Household IP Targeting Work?

Unlike most forms of digital advertising, IP Targeting works without cookies and unlike cookies, IP addresses cannot be deleted or blocked. You can stay connected to the household every time someone goes online and visit websites that display ads. You can target one-to-one down to a specific household or business. It works by using a technology of matching IP addresses to a list of names and street addresses and then displaying your digital ad only to those people on websites they visit across the internet. Your ads reach the exact target household so you have zero wasted impressions or budget.

So who can you target?

You can target any demographic using any data list you have or any data list you purchase. With IP targeting you can purchase highly specialized lists to hit the exact target audience who is a good fit for your products and services. You can also target conventions, trade shows, university buildings and dorms…the list goes on and on.

How do I know if I need Household IP targeting?

Are you doing any direct mail? Direct mail is expensive to create and easy to miss. Especially if the person in the household the message was intended for does not actually bring the mail into the house. Is your target audience super niche? With IP targeting you can define your list by age, income, gender, location and more. You can narrow your audience based on large sets of criteria which allows you to target anyone from new homeowners to renters. New parents, high-income households, and countless other demographics.

How is this different from Geo-Targeting:
Geo-targeting uses groups of IP addresses to target an entire area. But Household IP Targeting uses individual IP addresses to target specific households. Think of it as sniper-like advertising reaching an exact target rather than advertising that blankets an area.

What are some examples and who is using it?

Colleges and universities consistently see success using IP Targeting to attract new students. Schools can target homes where college-aged students are living with their parents and target those IP addresses. Parents typically help the students decide what school to attend, and now colleges and universities can reach both the potential students and their parents all at once, dramatically increasing results.

Political candidates can reach specific households through their IP address and deliver their message to voters known to have voted in past elections.

Credit Unions and banks could target a list of people who have equity in their homes or existing customers who have bank accounts but not credit cards through their institution.

Automotive dealers can use their existing customer lists to entice previous customers to return to their dealership and take advantage of their most recent lease programs or perhaps target a list of people that have been to their service department but have not purchased a car from them.

How are results measured?

Monthly reports will measure clicks, impressions, click through rate, conversions, view throughs, top performing creative and in addition, we can do a “match back” report to show you exactly which customers came from your Household IP Targeting campaign.

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Author

Dana Bojcic (how do you pronounce that? Boy-chich) is a Senior Partner with Vici and Google Analytics Certified. Dana is an experienced trainer and coach of salespeople and managers. Her background includes working for advertising agencies and as a certified Talent Analyst.